I just bought a 2008 Rabbit. Every second of it has been a blast.

The nearest VW dealer is about an hour away and they were more than helpful. After I took the keys, I asked one of the guys in the garage if I should take it easy for the first couple hundred miles, he just grinned and said, "No, dude, drive it like you stole it, man!" I did, and I'm glad I did. The 6-speed automatic is awesome, I took it through some NW Texas mountain roads at about as fast as I could and the car never felt strained. It got up to 100 passing 18-wheelers without too much fuss.

I am completely blown away by the interior. It is just hard to believe how much room there is inside, and the dash and steering wheel are in a completely different league from what we've all grown to accept from American cars. I have almost a foot of headroom (I'm 6'1") and there's more back seat space than my old Bonneville had. The stereo is outstanding but I wish the mp3 jack was on the dash instead of in the glove box (which is air conditioned to keep small bottles cold for you, by the way).

It's a lot of fun to drive, has an excellent turning radius, and has been pretty good on gas as far as I'm concerned, but then again I traded in a Bonneville for it, so I'm stoked about anything above 12 mpg.

Go for it.
Amount Paid (US$): 17,900
Condition: New
Model Year: 2008
Model and Options: 6-speed automatic